Author Guide (Academic)

Getting started

Publishers, Editors, Marketeers and the Director meet once a month in a Publisher's Meeting to discuss proposals put forward by our Commissioning Editors and/or recommended by Series Boards. When a proposal is accepted, the author(s) or editor(s) will be offered a publishing agreement. In the case of academic publications, approval by a Series Board will usually be sought before recommendation at a Publisher’s Meeting. The academic quality of our publications will be ensured further by subjecting manuscripts to a stringent peer review process.

Please take the time to prepare your proposal carefully. It is in your means to try and convince Series Editors, Commissioning Editor, and Marketeers alike of the value of your proposed publication, of what it adds to the existing literature, of why it is important, and who you think will read the book and benefit from it. Please bear in mind that market expectations heavily weigh in on decisions to accept a proposal. In addition, we need to be able to gain insight into your method, the framework you (and your contributors) are using, the structuring of the material you envision, etc. When submitting a proposal, it is often helpful to send along a sample chapter or a recent publication and a CV.

Submitting a proposal - average evaluation time: 6 to 8 weeks

• Download the proposal form from this page and carefully complete it;
• Send the completed proposal form to your contact at AUP, usually a Series Editor or Commissioning Editor (see the Series page or Staff page);
• We will send you an acknowledgment of receipt;
• We aim to evaluate your proposal within 6 to 8 weeks after receiving it at the office;
• Upon approval of the proposal, we will offer you a publishing agreement conditional on positive Peer Review of the manuscript.

Links & Documents:

Proposal Form 2024

Preparing and submitting your manuscript for review

Submission - deadline as indicated by author(s)

• Please use our Style Guide (see the link below) and try to keep to the number of words agreed with us;
• If you require support with copy-editing your manuscript then we encourage you to make use of our partnership with Academic Language Experts and benefit from special discounted rates.
• Please send your Commissioning Editor the complete manuscript with a title page and table of contents, list of (planned) illustrations, and abstracts + keywords + author bios.

Peer Review - average time: 2 to 4 months

• Your manuscript will be evaluated by 1 or 2 readers;
• On the basis of the reader reports (and any suggestions from the Series Editors), we will ask you for a revision plan and a revision timeline, which will be evaluated by the Series Editors.

Revision and Approval - deadline as indicated by Commissioning Editor

• Revision of the manuscript;
• Submission of the revised manuscript and evaluation by the Series Editors;
• Approval of the manuscript.

Links & Documents:

AUP Submission and Style Guide

Submitting the final draft of your manuscript for production - average time: 2 months

Submission checklist

• title page
• table of contents
• manuscript text
• cover blurb
• cover image + explicit permission to use as cover image
• abstracts for each chapter / essay
• keywords for each chapter / essay
• bibliography / list of works cited for each chapter / essay
• complete bibliography / list of works cited in addition to the chapter / essay ones
• name, affiliation, short biography, and contact details for each author / contributor
• tables, graphs, and images (etc.)
• graph and image and table captions / credit lines
• list of illustrations (or in manuscript text)
• completed author illustration checklist (provided to you by AUP in your Author Submission Pack)
• permissions to use the images for print publication, e-book, and if applicable Open Access publication

Gatekeeping: technical check

• A native English speaking “Gatekeeper” will check your manuscript for completeness, consistency, and Style Guide conformity.

Technical revision

• Technical revision and delivery of missing material by the author/editor.

Submission of the final draft of the manuscript

• Send the final draft to the Gatekeeper;
• Administrative checks at the office and approval for production;
• Desk Editing contacts you with a production planning

Links & Documents:

Author Illustration Checklist
Compiling an Index

Production – average time: 4 to 6 months

• Copyediting
• Copyedited proofs will be sent to the author/editor for approval or correction
• Corrections
• Typesetting
• Typeset proofs will be sent to the author/editor for approval or correction
• Corrections
• 2nd and 3rd proofs with corrections where necessary
• Creating the index
• Printing
• Distribution

Marketing & Sales

• The moment your book goes into production, the metadata is distributed with our global aggregators and shared with our market representatives and vendors directly.
• A few months before publication, the marketing team will reach out to you with a questionnaire regarding the reviewers/journals you would like us to contact and other marketing leads.
• Around publication, our marketing team encourage author marketing with a full toolkit for each editor/author/contributor as well as social media, email newsletter and PR outreach.
• You can read more about the marketing timeline here.

Links & Documents:

• Author Marketing Questionnaire (Monograph)
• Author Marketing Questionnaire (Edited Collection)
• Social Media Marketing Pack for Authors
• Library Recommendation Form